[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 61 (Tuesday, March 31, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17029-17031]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-07369]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request--National Universal Product Code (NUPC) Database
AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment
on this proposed information collection. This is a revision of a
currently approved collection for the development and maintenance of a
central repository containing information about authorized WIC foods as
approved by various WIC State agencies.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before June 1, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection
of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions
of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate
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of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions that were used; (c) ways to
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to respond, including use of appropriate
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology.
Comments may be sent to: Steve Porter, Food and Nutrition Service,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 528,
Alexandria, VA 22302. Comments may also be submitted via fax to the
attention of Steve Porter at 703-305-2196 or via email to
[email protected]. Comments will also be accepted through the
Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to http://www.regulations.gov, and
follow the online instructions for submitting comments electronically.
All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the
request for Office of Management and Budget approval. All comments will
be a matter of public record.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
copies of this information collection should be directed to Steve
Porter at 703-305-2721.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: National Universal Product Code (NUPC) Database
Form Number: N/A
OMB Number: 0584-0552
Expiration Date: May 31, 2015
Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection
Abstract: The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women,
Infants and Children (WIC), (Pub. L. 109-85), provides low-income
pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, infants, and children up
to age five with nutritious supplemental foods. The program also
provides nutrition education and referrals to health and social
services.
The WIC Program is administered by the USDA Food and Nutrition
Service (FNS). FNS provides grant funding and issues regulations which
are utilized by WIC State agencies to operate the WIC Program and
distribute benefits through local WIC clinics. The program operates
throughout the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico,
American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the
Virgin Islands, and in 34 Indian Tribal Organizations.
The USDA Food and Nutrition Service previously included WIC State
agencies in burden calculations for the NUPC database. WIC State
agencies have been removed from this burden calculation and will
instead be included in the burden calculation associated with the final
regulations for WIC Electronic Benefit Transfer promulgated as a result
of The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-296). The
remainder of this abstract provides a brief description of WIC program
operations and recent modifications to the NUPC database.
WIC State agencies are required to authorize eligible foods on
their WIC food list by federal regulations at 7 CFR part 246. Under
these regulations, State agencies must review food products for
eligibility in accordance with Federal regulations and State agency
policies. State agencies are not required to authorize all food
products eligible under federal regulations, but generally select foods
based on factors such as cost, availability and acceptability to
participants. After review, the State agency develops a list of food
items available to WIC participants for purchase. State agencies
require Authorized Vendors (i.e., stores authorized to provide WIC
foods) to ensure only authorized food items are purchased. A few of
these vendors have programmed their point of sale systems to identify
WIC approved foods and their associated Universal Product Code (UPC) or
Price Look-Up (PLU) code as individual products are scanned at the
checkout; however, many vendors still rely on their checkout clerks to
ensure only authorized WIC products are approved for purchase.
WIC State agencies currently operating Electronic Benefit Transfer
(EBT) systems provide their Authorized Vendors with an electronic file
containing the State agency's current list of authorized foods. This
food list is known as the Authorized Products List (APL). In State
agencies where EBT systems are operational, as products are scanned at
the checkout lane, the UPC or PLU is matched to the State specific APL.
Food items matching the APL, and which are presented in quantities less
than or equal to the remaining benefit balance associated with the
participant's WIC EBT card, are approved for purchase. Unmatched items,
or items in excess of the available account balance, may not be
purchased with WIC benefits.
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 directs the Secretary of
Agriculture to establish a National Universal Product Code (NUPC)
database for use by all WIC State agencies as they implement Electronic
Benefit Transfer (EBT) statewide. As a result of this legislation, FNS
has adopted a plan to expand the number of data elements contained in
the existing NUPC database while simultaneously attempting to reduce
the burden on WIC State agency employees tasked with creating State
specific APL's by assembling food product information in an easily
accessible repository.
NUPC database modifications and expansion activities have allowed
for the storage and retrieval of additional data elements for each WIC
authorized food to include: Nutrition facts panel, ingredients, special
processing practices (i.e., Kosher or Halal), and a free form comments
field. All previously used product identifier fields were retained.
Responsibility for populating the NUPC database, which previously
resided with individual WIC State agencies, has been transferred to an
independent contractor who will serve as the single point of entry for
all information entering the NUPC database. This contractor will ensure
NUPC data is captured with a high level of accuracy while preserving
data integrity in a standardized format.
The NUPC database will provide all WIC State agencies with access
to a central repository containing comprehensive information about
authorized WIC foods. State agencies may choose to use the NUPC
database to create an initial list of authorized foods eligible for
redemption by WIC Program participants. Subsequently, State agencies
may use the NUPC database to maintain their list of authorized foods
and to create an APL for distribution to Authorized Vendors when
operating in the EBT environment.
Affected Public: Businesses or Other For Profit Organizations.
Respondent groups identified include: (1) Food Manufacturers and
Distributors; and (2) Authorized Vendors.
Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated number of
respondents is 360. This includes 240 Food Manufacturers or
Distributors and 120 Authorized Vendors.
Estimated Frequency of Responses per Respondent: 3.33. The 240 Food
Manufacturers or Distributors will be asked to provide product
information in electronic format (.doc, .xls, .pdf). All responses are
voluntary. FNS estimates that each of the Food Manufacturers or
Distributors will be asked to provide product information 4 times per
year on average and that each of the 120 Authorized Vendors will be
asked to provide product information 2 times per year on average.
Estimated Total Annual Responses: The total number of responses is
estimated to be 1,200. FNS estimates
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Food Manufacturers or Distributors will be asked to respond a total of
960 times per year (240 Food Manufacturers or Distributors x 4
responses per year each = 960). FNS estimates Authorized Vendors will
be asked to respond a total of 240 times per year (120 Authorized
Vendors x 2 responses per year each = 240). All responses are
voluntary.
Estimated Time per Response: 8.6 hours.
The estimated time per response varies by type of respondent. FNS
expects all respondents will expend 12 hours per respondent per year to
develop, maintain, and troubleshoot the electronic systems for use in
transmitting information. The estimated time required to develop,
maintain, and troubleshoot electronic systems is amortized over the
expected number of responses. FNS also expects all respondents will
expend 2 seconds per response to transmit information to FNS
electronically. Since the time required to actually transmit the
information to FNS is considered negligible (total of 40 minutes per
year for all respondents), it was omitted from the burden calculation.
FNS expects that Food Manufacturers or Distributors will expend 6 hours
per response to gather and format the requested information. Authorized
Vendors are expected to expend 1 hour per response to gather and format
the requested information.The estimated time per response for Food
Manufacturers or Distributors is expected to be 9 hours per response
((12 hours per year/4 responses per year) + 6 hours per response = 9
hours per response).
The estimated time per response for Authorized Vendors is expected
to be 7 hours per response ((12 hours per year/2 responses per year) +
1 hour per response = 7 hours per response).
Estimated Total Annual Burden on all Respondents: 10,320 hours. The
table below provides an estimated total annual burden for each type of
respondent.
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Frequency of Estimated
Estimated responses per Total annual average number Estimated
Respondent number of respondent responses of hours per total hours
respondents (annually) response
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Food Manufacturers and 240 4 960 9.0 8,640.0
Distributors (Voluntary).......
Authorized Vendors (Voluntary).. 120 2 240 7.0 1,680.0
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Total Reporting Burden...... 360 3.33 1,200 8.6 10,320.0
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Dated: March 19, 2015.
Audrey Rowe,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-07369 Filed 3-30-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P